Yarn carrier with a replaceable yarn guide eyelet



July 2, 1946. .4, STAUB 2,403,310 I YARN CARRIER WITH REPLACEABLE YARNGUIDE EYELET Fil ed June 28, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR:

July 2, 1946.

H. STAUB YARN CARRIER WIT?! REPLACEABLE YARN GUIDE EYELET Filed June28', 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR: flerman Stank,

- A TBR EY.

Patented July 2, 1 946 YARN CARRIER WITHAREBLAGEABLE YARN GUIDE EYELETHerman smut, Wyomissing, Pa, assignor to 'Ixtile Machine Works,Wyomissing,

ration of Pennsylvania Application June 28, 1943, Serial No. 492,634

(01.- ss-ns) 21 Claims. 1 i.

The present invention relates in general to yarn guide means of eitherreciprocating or nonreciprocating type, and more particularly toimprovements in reciprocating yarn carriers such as those employed infull-fashioned or other flat knitting machines, as well as to yarn guidemembers or eyelets associated with and forming apart of such yarncarriers.

It is a known fact, although essentially a surprising one, that ordinarytextile yarns such as silk, cotton and rayon have a marked grooving orscoring action on the eyelets and like guide members through and overwhich they run and this in spite of the fact that such eyelets and otherguide members for the yarn are made of polished hard materials. Due tosuch scoring or grooving in the guide element the yarn is damaged by theguide member and often broken, leading to expensive shutdowns ofproduction machinery to permit rethreading and also for replacement ofthe yarn guide members. The delay due to the need of changing yarn guidemembers is especially serious in the case of full-fashioned or likeknitting machines in which a number of yarn carrier rods of rectangularcross-section are mounted to reciprocate side by side with only a smallclearance between adjacent rods. In such acase, the bolts or otherattachment means for holding the main plates of the yarn carriers on theyarn carrier rods, except those for the top rod of a group, lie betweentwo rods in such position that their removal is blocked and customarilyit is necessary to take out the rod carrying an entire set of yarncarriers in order to change a yarn guide which has become too much wornfor further use. When the worn guide is a part ofthe yarn carrier, then,before or after another carrier has been substituted for the originalone, the remaining parts of the carrier need to be reassembled on theholder and the holder and parts must be adjusted to ensure that the yarnguide at the lower end of the carrier is in the correct position.

It is an object of this invention to provide a. yarn carrier having ayarn guide construction adapted to minimize the grooving action of theyarn in-the guide. member. 7

Another object of this invention is to provide a yarn carrier element,for a knitting machine, with a readily removable guide eyelet.

Another object is to provide a yarn carrier having an eyelet arrangementpermitting the eyelet to rotate in use in response to the action of themachine and the yarn.

A further object is to provide a, yarn carrier Pa., a corpo- 2arrangementfoi full-"fashioned or other flat knit ting machines in whichall the yarn guide members may be renewed without disturbing theadjustment of any of the remaining parts.

A still additional object is to provide a yarn carrier arrangement fortull -fashioned or other flat knitting machines in which all the yarnguide Still another object is to provide a yarn guidemember, such as aneyelet, and supporting means therefor adapted to releasably hold theguide member in a sufficient number of different angu lar positions inuse to permit the wear on the guide member to be distributed oversubstantially three hundred and sixty degrees of arc.

With these and other objects in View, which will become apparent fromthe following detailed description of an illustrative embodiment of thepresent invention shown in the accompanying drawings, the inventionresides in the yarn carrier means, comprising the new elements, methodof manufacture, the novelfeatures of construction and arrangementofparts in cooperative relationship, as herein disclosed and hereinaftermore particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawings:

Figure lis a view of a yarn carrier within,

the resent invention as viewed iii the direction of the arrow A in Fig.2 and showing in connection therewith portions of the yarn carrier rods,a-Lneedle bar and a sinlzer-h'ead of a Reading full-fashioned knittingmachine;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale of the upper portion of the yarncarrier shown in Fig. i.

and a portion of carrier rod 8 to which it is shown as attached; v i

Fig; 4 is a section taken on the line l-Li of Fig Fig. 5 is a detailview, partly in section, taken on the line 5'- 5 of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 6 is a detail View showing the upper per tion of the yarn carriershown in Figs. ii and 3 drawn to a still larger scale than Fig. 3 andtaken means and method necessary to a complete understanding of theinvention have been specifically set forth; further information as tothe construction and operation of other related, usual} and well knownknitting machine elements, mechanisms, etc., may be found in one ormore, of the following publications:

l. Pamphlet entitled-Full-Fashioned Knitting Machines-published andcopyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, Reading, Pennsyl- Vania, in1920.

. Three catalogs entitled--The Reading Full- Fashioned Knitting MachinePartsCatalogpublished and copyrighted by the Textile Machine Works, in1929, 1935 and 1940, respectively.

. Booklet entitled-The Reading High-Production Full-Fashioned KnittingMachinewhich forms a supplement to the above noted 1940 parts catalog ofthe Textile Machine Works, and which booklet is a publication of theTextile Machine Works, and was copyrighted by the latter in 1940.

. Pamphlet entitled-Knitting Machine Lectures-published by theWyomissing Polytechnic Institute, Wyomissing, Pennsylvania, in

' A yarn carrier apparatus within this invention involves means forreleasably holding a yarn guide member at the point the yarn enters thecarrier apparatuswhereby a guide member may for another in any yarn'bers so compactly arranged that any yarn carrier rod of a group such asare found in fullfashionedknitting machines may be used with any otherrod of the group without, interference while the yarn guide members are,at the same time, readily renewable by replacement and, preferably,rotatable. Also yarn carrier apparatus within this invention includes ayarn guide member so formed and mounted as to distribute the wear on theguide member over as much of the surface thereof as possible and therebyto minimize the groov-v ing action of the yarn. In machines utilizingreciprocating yarn carriers, it is preferred that the yarn guide memberbe a ring type eyelet and the mounting means therefor adapted to permitthe eyelet to rotate and thereby distribute the wear around the entireinner circumference of the ring. Preferably, the eyelet according tothis invention. is made of steel or a metal alloy and is symmetricalboth with respect to a central axis generally parallel to the course ofthe thread through the eyelet and with respect to a plane at rightangles to said central axis. It is thereby possible to readily andeconomically machine the eyelet to the desired shape and then to heattreat the eyelet to harden it to a high degree without distortion. Theresulting eyelet type of yarn guide member is readily manufactured inquantity at low cost and is sufficiently hard so that, especially whenmounted for use in a yarn carrier or like supporting means permitting itto rotate or to be shifted by hand to different angular positions, itgives long service. The yarn carrier can be readily and economicallymanufactured to per-,-

atlls within this invention mit the yarnguide eyelet member not only torotate but to permit it to be easily inserted into shown in Figs. 1 and2. Said group of rods are cate in a sinker-head structure including abase parts of the standard Reading type footer, legger or single unitknitting machine and are mounted to reciprocate in slots in brackets,one

of which is shown at 9 in Fig. 2, bars such as 9A being provided, onebar for each bracket to hold the rods in the slots in the brackets. RodsI to 8 serve as parts of the means for delivering yarn to the knittingelements of such a machine, said elements including a row of needles I0mounted on a needle bar II and cooperating 'sinkers I2 and dividers I3for measuring yarn laid to the needles and for dividing it, the sinkersand dividers arranged alternately. The sinkers and dividers are shown asmounted to recipro- I4 and a cap I5, said structure mounted on a centrebed, a portion of which appears at I6.-

Mounted on the cap I5 is a verge plate "for limiting the motion of thesinkers and in the direction toward the needles I0. As the machine isoperated, a fabric I8 is formed onneedles ID by the cooperative actionof the needles, sinkers, dividers and other cooperating knit tingelements not shown, from yarn laid to the,

reciprocation of one needles coincident with the v The means for operormore yarn carrier rods.

ating the elements previously mentioned are not shownherein and need notbe further mentioned since, as above indicated, they are wellknown-Shown as fixed to yarn carrier rod 8 by bolts I9 01' other suitablemeans (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) 'is a yarn carrier according to the presentinven tion designated generally as 20, each rod in group I to 8 beingunderstoodto have a set of yarn carriers thereon, one for each knittingsection. Carrier 20 may be of somewhat the same general type as thatshown in the patent to Gastrich, No. 2,092,619, of September 7, 1937,and is shown as comprising a supporting plate or holder 2| directlybolted to rod 8 and a finger portion 22 adjustably connected, to theunder side of plate 2! by bolts 23' or other suitable means. Also ad-'justably connected to plate 2I by bolts 23 is a renewable or replaceablewhen the carriers are in position for use but each carrier or carriersnext adjacent thereto without hindrance when in use; so that theoperators choice of a rod is not limited bypossible'intrference. lentelements, are reciprocated in use,.although often only one at a time andusually not morethan three at once.. In the well-known: fulldividerscarriers are so formed, and

carrier can pass the- The yarn carrier rods I to 8, or equiva--fashioned. knitting machine, they are reciprocatedbetween end stops whenin use and are driven "by friction boxes on a reciprocating frictiOn-jbOX rod through arms which may each be connected with anddisconnected from a given rod of a group as desired. The yarn carrierrods shown generally reciprocate between end stops whichlimit the.lengths of their paths when laying yarn, .bll't the stops may be movedout of the paths of the rods to permit the rodsto pass them and tothereby be laid out by hand, some on one side of the knitting field andsome on the other, when not in .use. When so laid .out, the yarncarriers on the'carrier rods laid out on a given side of the knittingfield lie one above anotherand so may prevent ready access to the yarnguide members of those yarn carriers in the lower carriers ofthose laidout on one or the other side of the knitting field. However, when themachine is stationary, any given rod having a yarn carrier thereonincluding a yarn guide member needing to be changed may easily bemovedout so that the yarn carriers thereon lie in theknitting fields, inwhich location all yarn guide members in carriers on the rod are readilyaccessible. It will be seen that carrier 20 extends downwardly andforwardly from the rod 8-to a point near the needles and sinkers. In thearrangement shown, four yarn guide members are included in the yarncarrier 20. bers,25, is at the upper end of plate 2| and there-v foreisat a higher level than the rod; a second, 26, at the upper end of plate24; a third, 21, at the lower end of plate 24; and a fourth, 28, at thelower end of finger 22. Guide members 25, 26 and 21 are shown as eyeletsof the improved construction, while member 28 is a replaceable yarn tubeof known form not related to th present invention In use, yarn 29 from ayarn source not shown is threaded down through members 25, 3 and 28pandits lower end held fastuntil after the yarn has been formed into one ormore courses of knitted loops, when it can be released. Guide members25, 26 and 21 are shown as substantially identical and are all mountedso as to rotate in use. i

llach guide member 25, 26 and 21 is generally annular in form, beingofring or eyelet shape having a generally cylindrical aperture 30therethrough, as shownin Figs. 4 and 5, and symmetrical with respect tothe longitudinalaxis of aperture 30. Aperture 3D is, however, flaredoutwardly somewhat at its ends as shown at 3| to providea, smoothbevelled inlet and thus avoid too sharp an edge which would scrape orabrade the yarn 29, especially as the yarn enters the eyelet 25'andleaves the eyelet 21, at which points anoticeable angle is formed in theyarn. Each eyelet, however, is symmetrical with respect to its central 1plane transverse. to the central axis of its aperture, so that itisimmaterialwhich end of any eyelet is used as inlet and which as.outlet for the yarn. Also, each eyelet 25, 26 and 27 has acircumferential-groove 32 in its said central transverseplane in whichthe supporting means for an eyeletis seated when the eyelet is in use.

'Ihemounting,holding or supporting means for the guide member 25-is suchthatnot only can the member. rotate in use, but it can be readilypressed into positionin .the holding means and removed. therefromwhenever it is desired to changeone eyelet or guide member for another.Said supportingimeanscomprises'a "pair of spaced arms 33-33 which are oflight enough cross section andilong enough to have a certain One of saidmemfingers 34 which fingers 40 tions from twistflarms' 33to furtherincrease the distance between .the'fingers 34. Fingers 34 of arms 33 areshown as bent at substantially right angles to theEIplateJZI, however,the invention is not limited toza particular angle. Therefore, a yarnguide member such as eyelet can be quickly and conveniently assembled inits supporting means .by taking the eyelet between the thumb and.forefinger. or .by gripping it with pliers a d pressing it betweenfingers 34, which yield to receive it. To facilitate thus inserting theeyelet, the tips of fingers 34 are rounded at 35-35 as best shown inFigs. 5 and 6. The distance between the inner faces of rounded portions35 is normally somewhatless than the minimum outer diameter of theeyelet 25 at the groove 32. Just inside the rounded portions 35, fingers34 are cut out to form recesses bounded by circular arcuate surfaces '31which conform to the outside diameter of the eyelet at the groove 32.Preferably, the diametric -distance between the arcuate inner surfacesof the fingers greater than the normal .minimum outer diameter-of theeyelet at the groove 32 so that there is a clearance between them asshown in Fig. 5and the eyelet is free to revolve in the normally supportit. i The, supporting means shown for eyelets 26 and 2'! are of the sametype as'that for eyelet 2 5 and areshown one at each end of the washerplate 24!.v The supporting means for the eyelets 26 and 21comprise arms38-36 and 39-39, respectively, and fingers 40-40 and 4|-4|,respectively, the fingers in each case being set substantially at rightangles to the arms. Also, arms 38 and 39 are integral with the plate 24and and 4| are integral with the arms. Further, although the means forsupporting eyelets, 26 and 2'! are of slightly difierent proporthat forsupporting eyelet 25, they will not be further described, except to saythat the eyelets 26 and 2'! are readily releasable from and insertablein their supports and are preferably rotatable .therei It will beunderstandable from the foregoing.

that any yarn guide member-or eyelet 25, at the upper end orintermediate'portion of a holder 2| of a yarn carrier arrangement withinthis invention, can be removed and replaced by another withoutdisturbing. the holder and therefore without which the holder is fixedbe removed from the brackets. Similarly any eyelet 2 6 or 21 can beremoved-and replaced without disturbing the adjustment of the plate 24from ported. Further, the holder means on each holder 2| and on eachwasher plate 24 for however, slightly requiring that the yarn carrierrod to which it is sup- 25, 2s and 21' or the delivery tube 28, the yarncarrier wilLin general, be one in use, so that "it 'wil'l'either cometime to. form angles in 7 to r'est' at the end er. a yarn laying: strokein a position'in which allsthe yarn guide members are. readily.accessible to the machine operator or. else 'itcan be-readily moved intosuch a position thatall of' such guide members will be so accessible byturning over the machine a portion of'arevolution either. bythe motor orby hand. Suchcarrier rods as arenot in use and therefore are laid out atone side or the other. of the knitting field, insofar. as may benecessary, may be moved by hand-when the machine has been stoppedzsothatztany yarn carrier on which it is desired tochangea'yarn guidememberor eyelet may-be readily accessible for this purpose. :Inoperation, yarn 29 is threaded through eyelets 25,126 anal? and tube 28,the yarncarrier--rod.8 and/or such' other rods or rods as may be in useis or are reciprocated rapidly by the known couliering means or itsequivalent so that yarn is drawn from'a source (not shown) and laidalong the needle "row as'will be clear from" Figs. 1 and 2. Owing to theinertia of theyarn, .it swings back" and forth during operationof themachine, thereby turning with it the eyelets 25, 26'andf21. 'Also, thejars given the carrier rodsito v8 during operation, and especiallyduringstopping and reversing them, cause the'rotatably mounted eyelets25, 26 and 21 to jump, slip or skip .with respect to the yarn andthereby turn the point of contact between the yarn and eyelet through acomplete revolution at frequent intervals in use. Such rotation of theeyelet in use-in response to the action of the yarn .and/onthe machine.distributes the wear over the entire inner surface of the eyelet,thereby greatly:lengthening its useful life and diminishing yarn damage.However, in case it is preferred not to permit the'eyelets or other yarnguides to rotatein use, this is readily providedforwithin this inventionby reducing the spacing between the opposed arcuate surfaces ofthe=fingers 35 to eliminate the clearance between them andthe eyeletsuchsas '25. Nevertheless, owing ."to the ease with which the eyeletscanbe snapped into'and out-of their supports, they can be taken out andturned by hand from time to time: to distribute the wear of the yarn onthe eyelets. As shown, the arms 33, 38 and 39 are integral withthe plate2|, but the invention isv not limited to this.

In the manufacture of an, eyelet supporting means on a plate such as 2|or 24; the plate preferablyis substantially plane at first and in thiscondition'portions are-struck out to form the arms '33 or 38' and 39'and the socket or sockets for. the eyelet,or .;other yarn guide memberor membersibounded by arcuate surfaces 31. The arms 33,1 38 and 39 arethereby formed integral with plate 2| or plate 24, but they may bewelded, brazed or arms 33, 38 and'39 are bent to form fingers 34,40 and41,; respectively; thereon having the sockets for, the guide memberstherein'and'. at the same the arms but-preferably near the outer ends:of the arms. As shown, the fingers-are set at angles .to the arms, butthis also is optional. :Thejben'ding of the'arms-to set the iingers atangles thereto is done after the arms have been formed in the plateswhen the arms-are integral with the plates. Otherwise the bending maybedone at any time. The main portionio'f plate. 2| maybe bent as shown'inFig. 4

otherwise aflixed to the plates. 'The' at the time'oifbendingth'efingers but preferably 7 this is done ,at'the timefof striking outmaterial temperature I'he improvements specifically shown anddescribedby which I obtain the above results, can be changed andmodified in various ways without thereto, each of said carriersincludingmeans including arms spaced. and offset at their free endsandfixed to the carrier at their other ends for replaceably holding ayarn guide member at a point removed from its yarn delivery end and ayarn guide member releasably held in said means. 2. In a flat knittingmachine, a group of reciprocating members having 'yarn carriers fixedthereto, each of said carriers including means including arms spaced andofiset at their free ends and fixed to the carrier at their other endsfor replaceably holding yarn guide members at points along its length,and yarn guide members releasably held in saidmeans, each of saidcarriers passing any other in use. 3. In a flat knitting machine, agroup of reciprocating members'having yarn carriers fixed thereto, eachof said carriers having means for rotatably and replaceably holding ayarn guide member at a point removed from its delivery end, said meansextendingin part at an angle to the part of the yarn carrier on whichthe means is carried, each of said carriers passing any other in use. i

4. A yarn carrier comprising a member pro vided with supporting meansincluding bifurcated arms projecting somewhat transversely of thegeneral plane of the carrier and adapted to re-' leasably hold an eyeletin position to guide yarn in the direction of the length of the carrier,and

an eyelet rotatably mounted in said supporting means and having a grooveinto which said arms project.-

5. In a yarn carrier having a reciprocating action and subject to jarsin use, an eyelet receiving yarn and directing the yarn lengthwise ofthe carrier and rotatably mounted thereon by means extending somewhattransversely of the general plane of the carrier, said jarring of thecarrier assisting rotation of said eyelet.

6. In a flat knittin machine, in combination,

a reciprocating yarn carrier, an eyelet on the carrier thru which theyarn passes, and transversely extendingbifurcate supporting means on thecarrier in which the eyelet is releasably and rotatably mounted.

'7. In a hat knitting machine, in combination,

a reciprocating yarn carrier comprising a mem ber provided withtransverse bifurcate supports adapted 'to releasably holdeyelets inposition to guide yarn in the direction of the length of the carrier,and'eyelets rotatably mounted in said sup r x 8.,In a flat knittingmachine, in combination, a yarn carrier reciprocating'withrespect' toits yarn s'upply and subject to jars from the machine in use, an eyelet,and a'transverse mamas eyelet supporting means on the carrier andhavingwsnap action with respect to said eyelet so that the eyelet maybereadily: forced into operative position in the supporting meansandreleasably heldin said operative position, the eyeletrotatingin itssupportingmeans in use'inresponse to jars from the machine and theaction oftheyarn. f. I

.,.91-;A.supn0r 1ns mq n iqr a yarn snid m ber including a plate havinga pair of spaced arms fixed thereon and bent to form an angle relativelynear their outer end's'and having opposed arcuate recesses, the faces ofwhich are adapted to hold an eyelet in use, and to permit the readyrelease and replacement" of the eyelet by a combined spreading andtwisting action of the arms.

10. A yarn carrier comprising a plate to be directly fixed to one of agroup of reciprocatory carrier rods and having a finger fastened to oneend and a means including arms spaced and offset at their free ends andfixed to the carrier at their other ends for releasably holding a yarnguide member fastened to its other end and adapted to project clear ofthe group of rods,

whereby a guide member in said means may be readily exchanged foranother without needing to disturb any of the group of rods.

11. A yarn carrier having a holder member to be directly fixed to one ofa group of yarn carrier rods, a yarn guide member at each end of saidholder member and yarn guide means intermediate said guide members andincluding arms spaced and offset attheir free ends and fixed to thecarrier at their other ends, said uide members and guide means allreplaceable without disturbing said holder member.

12. A yarn carrier comprising a holder member to be directly fixed toone of a group of yarn carrier rods, a carrier finger fixed to one endof said holder memben a means at the other end of said holder member forreleasably holding a yarn guide member, a washer plate held at a pointof connection between said holder member and said finger, and means forreleasably holding yarn guide members, one at each end of said washerplate, and including bifurcated arms upstanding from the plane of thewasher plate.

13. A yarn carrier having a holder member to be directly fixed to one ofa group of yarn carrier rods, a yarn guide member at each end of saidholder member and yarn guide means intermediate said guide members andincluding a plate supported on said holder member and including armsspaced and offset at their free ends and fixed to the plate at theirother ends, said guide members and' uide means all replaceable withoutdisturbing said holder member.

14. A yarn carrier comprising a holder member to be directly fixed toone of a group of yarn carrier rods, a carrier finger fixed to one endof said holder member, a replaceable yarn guide member at the otherendof said holder member, a washer plate hel'd'at a point of connectionbetween said holder member and said finger, yarn guide members, one ateach end of said washer plate, and bifurcated arms upstanding at leastone from said holder member and at least one from said washer plate andintegral'therewith for releasably holding said yarn guide members.

15. In a flat knitting machine, a group of reciprocating members havingyarn carriers fixed thereon, each carrier adapted to pass any othercarrier in use, each having a plurality of yarn guide members inaddition to a yarn delivery 10 tube, all said plurality of guide membersrenewable when the reciprocating'members are all in position for use,and readily releasable means for holding each of said guide membersincluding bifurcate arms.

16; In a fiat knitting machine, a group of reciprocating members havingyarn carriers fixed thereto, each of said carriers including a holder, afinger fixed to said holder and a washer plate at the juncture of saidholder and finger, said holder having means for replaceably holding a'yarn guide member at the end removed from said finger and said washerplate having means at both ends for replaceably holding yarn guidemembers, each of said carriers passing any'other in use.

17. In a full-fashioned knitting machine, the combination with areciprocating yarn carrier rod of a yarn carrier fixed thereto andcomprising portions extending in opposite directions from said rod, andmeans including bifurcate arms in said portions for releasably holdinyarn guide members.

18. -In a flat knitting machine, a group of reciprocating members havingyarn carriers fixed thereto, each of said carriers having meansincluding arms having spaced free ends with the means fixed to thecarrier at its other end and adapted for rotatably and replaceablyholding a yarn guide member at a point removed from the delivery end ofthe carrier, said means extending in part at an angle to the part of theyarn carrier on which the means is carried, each of said carrierspassing any other in use.

19. In a fiat knitting machine, a group of reciprocating members havingyarn carriers fixed thereto, each of said carriers including a holder, afinger fixed to said holder and a, washer plate at the junction of saidholder and finger, said holder having means for replaceably holding ayarn guide member at the end removed from said finger and said washerplate having means at both ends each including bifurcate arms forreplaceably holding yarn guide members, each of said carriers passingany other in use.

20. A yarn carrier structure for full-fashioned knitting machines havingmeans intermediate its ends for holding yarn guide eyelets comprising aplate portion having arms with spaced free end lying approximatelyatright angles to the plate and adapted to permit eyelet members to bereadily inserted therebetween and removed therefrom.

21. A yarn carrier including a base having a generally plane rearportion and a generally plane front portion tilted relative to said rearportion, a yarn guide finger extending from said front portion andgenerally parallel thereto, a replaceable yarn guide tube removablymounted on said rear portion and extending generally parallel thereto,and a second replaceable yarn guide tube removably mounted generallyparallel to said front portion.

HERMAN STAUB.

